Is "Al Qaeda in Iraq" a franchise, standalone, or

[pinkpops]

a division of some larger organization? I'm thinking it is more like "Ace Plumbing", anyone can open one anywhere, so long as noone else is using the name.

[aquart]

1. Suddenly I'm seeing a franchise trade show.

Invest in al qaida! Be your own boss! Set your own hours! Double your investment!

[reprehensor]

2. Most likely a "countergang"

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/27/054.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=0FyqLmq8QA4C&pg=PA134&ots=t55x7cHBSO&dq=gangs+and+countergangs&sig=y3XdR_JA1egFaO7fIeH8Tw4xktQ

[kenny blankenship]

3. Bascially you put out your shingle and call yourself whatever you want

there's no trademark enforcement at all. It's like the wild west out there. You want to get instant name recognition by calling yourself Al-Quaeda, just go ahead and call yourself Al-Quaeda.

That being said, there are still a few branding strategies that seem to have builtin protection. An Iraq-based terrorist group calling itself "The Gay Zionist Crusaders Who Crap in Allah's Beard" so far have not received the sincerest form of flattery from any newly formed groups looking to pilfer some good will and publicity. And that's despite the GZCWCINAB having been formed way back in late June, 2003. They were all wiped out in July about two weeks later, in a series of attacks that splashed the Gay Zionist Crusaders Who Crap in Allah's Beard across newspapers all over the country; and since then the highly publicized GZCWCINAB brand name has basically been up for grabs all this time-- free to any and all--but even so, no takers.

[The_Wizard]

4. I think it's both...

Much like Radio Shack, you are corporately own unless you are outside or too far for district management. Then you are self managed under strict guidelines. Both have a high turnover rate and no french benefits.

[The Magistrate]

5. Chartered Franchise, Sir

It works about the same way expansions of a cycle outlaw gang does: locals want to call themselves "Hells Angels", and the origional bunch approves or no....

[Warren Stupidity]

6. Wholly owned subsidiary of TexArabia Family Enterprises, Inc. nt.

[Uncle Roy]

7. It sounds like a bogus name the Bushies cooked up to help sell their bogus 911 / Iraq connection.

They were gonna call it "911 WMD Mushroom Cloud Gonna Get Your Mamma Terrorists Under the Bed Terror Terror in Iraq", but they figured Bush the Lesser could never read that one off the teleprompter without giggling...

[maine_raptor]

8. I believe it's a Limited Liability Company

Great opportunity for advancement, with upper level openings occurring all the time, but the retirement plan sucks.

[electricmonk]

9. I don't know

Management is kind of top heavy. Way too many Number Twos.

[pinkpops]

11. Haw Haw

Not to mention "senior operatives"

[htuttle]

10. "Dread Terrorist Zarqawi #11567"

"Ask about our franchise opportunities!"

[dave_p]

12. "Ace Plumbing"

... with the bonus that it doesn't even matter if someone else is using the name, since others using it makes the original outfit look bigger too.

[pinkpops]

16. It's like Win-Win

[Forkboy]

13. If we don't keep them open over there they'll open franchises over here.

[Sabriel]

14. Good news for those of you thinking of a franchise!

These domain names are still available:

alqaidainiraq.com
alqaidainiraq.net
alqaidainiraq.biz

alqaedainiraq.net
alqaedainiraq.info

Sad to say, alqaedainiraq.com is taken already. You snooze, you lose.


No credit? No problem! "Al Qaida in Iraq" can service all your loan needs! Just listen to this affidavit:

"I always wanted to start a terrorist cell, but places like 'Taliban in Afghanistan' were out of reach for a person like me. Then a friend told me about 'Al Qaida in Iraq.' One quick call and a few easy online-forms later, I was the proud owner of 'Al Qaida in Peoria'! If I can do it, you can, too!"

[conspirator]

15. rec

[Strelnikov_]

17. Juan Cole: Not every gangster is mafioso, not every violent Salafi is al-Qaeda

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=819382&mesg_id=819382

Al-Qaeda is technically defined as persons who have given their fealty to Usama Bin Laden and who have been given an operation to do by him. It is sort of like being a "made man" in the Cosa Nostra. Not every two bit gangster is a mafioso, and not every violent Salafi is al-Qaeda. A recent study by Gen. Barry McCaffrey suggested that there are in fact 100,000 insurgents (I prefer the term guerrilla) in Iraq, not the 20,000 to 25,000 usually estimated by the US military. Iraq's previous interior minister estimated the number of foreign fighters in Iraq at less than a thousand. Most of these are Salafi Jihadis of one sort or another (revivalist Sunnis). So 99,000 insurgents are Iraqis. And none of them is al-Qaeda in the sense of being loyal to the organization or fighting for Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. They are fighting for some vision of the Iraqi nation, whether inflected by religion or not.